of our own making and washington is searching for little more than an umbrella to protect you from it. thanks for joining the conversation this week on "your money." we're going to stay on the story till it's done. normally we're here every saturday and sunday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. i'm on daily at 3:30 p.m. but until this is done, you're going to see a lot of me. tweet me, my handle i is @alivelshi. is @alivelshi. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm martin savidge in for fredricka whitfield. in three days, america will go off that fphysical cliff unless these prevent it, in control of whether or not your taxes go up come new year's day. harry reid, minority leader mitch mcconnell, house speaker

john boehner and house democratic leader nancy pelosi met at the white house yesterday afternoon with the president and vice president. here's where things stand right now. the senate leaders are meeting aiming to avoid tax hikes. and they may vote on a deal sunday or perhaps on monday. jessica yellin is our chief white house correspondent. lisa day jar dayne is on capitol hill. the president used his bully pulpit to reinforce the idea that senators need to get busy. so let's listen. >> the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable, why everything always has to wait till the last minute. we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a

politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. not right now. >> so jessica, you were in the room for the president's remarks. on a scale of 1 to 10, let's measure the anger perhaps that was emanating from the president right now with congress waiting until this last-minute deal. how angry is he? >> well, he definitely was using the bully pulpit to pressure congress to get something done this weekend. i'd say he seemed frustrated, but i definitely have seen him more frustrated, and today he wasn't totally out of patience, and today, martin, he said that he believes "we may be able to reach an agreement." that's what he believes that can pass both houses in time. that's in addition to the fact that yesterday, he said he's moderately optimistic. so there's still a window of hope, and it seems that window just opened a bit more yesterday after the meeting among all those leaders. the president is at the white house today working. his negotiators folks are on

stand by ready to be in touch with people on capitol hill, but they're waiting for any word of any kind of break through up there, and that's where a lot of the focus is today to see if that deal can be hatched between the senate minority leader and majority leader, martin. >> lisa, well, we've seen both speaker boehner and senator mcconnell at the capitol today. but we haven't heard anything from any of the players. so what's happening right now? >> believe me, we've been asking. we've been trying to get any sort of detail about anything we can. i actually think that this sort of silence that weigh hear from the players right now may be a good thing. i think it's an indication democratic sources told us yesterday if there's a deal going back and forth that's possible, they may be motivated to not talk to the press because they're going to want to try and give that deal a chance. that may be what's happening right now. of course, we don't know. i think right now, no news might be good news. we snow senator mcconnell's been in his office for more than hour

now working with his staff. senator reid is not here yet. it does seem like the republicans are perhaps either working with other republicans or working out the details of this possible deal. i think we're in the real working hours right now, and perhaps the less said by these major players at least for the moment, the better. >> the yes, well, let's hope that's the case. jessica, both sides still seem to be aways from what they want and everyone seems to be saying no one is going to get 100% of what they want, right? >> it's a compromise. everybody knows that at this point. i know the staffs of the two leaders are in touch and contacting each other trying to get closer. i can tell you what democrats want is, as you know and the president has made clear, a tax increase for people who make households that make $250,000 and more. an extension of unemployment benefits that affects some 2 million americans or so, a delay in those massive spending cuts that congress put into a package

a year ago. increase in the estate tax. now, what do republicans want ideally to be included? they'd like to limit the tax increase for high earns, place that threshold somewhere other than $250,000. avoid the estate tax increase, no delay in those spending cuts, and figure out an agreement to pay for the extension of unemployment benefits. no guarantee either side's going to get all or any of what they want. what they're trying to do now is probably whittle out middle ground and see if they can get there. >> lisa, let me ask you this. we've seen a number of the key players, heard from others. but there's someone noticeably absent and that is speaker john boehner. where is he? and has he been benched sort of in this process? >> he was here at the capitol this morning. our producer on capitol hill reports he was meeting with his chief of staff. we don't know the what they were talking about. he was here at the capitol. only he and senator mcconnell

have been here today. you know, i think the situation is such that after speaker boehner lost that vote, and there is walking in from earlier in the week, after speaker boehner lost the vote in his own caucus in the house, it was clear and he even said as much, that the senate needed to act. that's for a couple of reasons. one, the senate has that 60-vote threshold to get anything through and conservativives in the house want cover, they don't want to pass something and have it run into trouble in the senate because they would be sticking their neck out to some degree especially those conservatives or republicans worried about a tea party challenge next time around. so for a lot of reasons, everything has to start in the senate. that's why we're seeing a lot less of speaker boehner. but i think what's interesting in the capitol today martin, in the last few minutes we've seen the sun come out. this place is full of tourists. that kind of concern about the average american is getting these leaders to the table. >> all right. i love your optimism. thanks very much, lisa and jessica yellin joining us from

the white house. thank you both. we'll stay in close touch and follow this. thank you. in new york, police have a woman in custody in connection with a case of the man pushed to his death from a subway platform in that city. police had targeted a woman who looked like this police sketch, a heavy set woman in her 20s caught on a security camera running away after that attack on thursday. david aristo is live in new york with the latest developments on this, and pretty quick work here, wasn't it? >> seems to be. they have this woman in custody right now because that she had implicated herself, the statement we got from chief of police department spokesman paul brown. and this is a case that certainly has rocked new york. this is the second time this has taken place within the month of december. it's something that doesn't happen all that often here in new york. 8.5 million people in the city and many, many people take the subway. so to have something like this take place, you would think it's

got the city in sort of a tizzy. this thing happened in queens. the woman was walking back and forth. it's not clear if the one that they have in custody is indeed the woman that was seen on that security video that you showed earlier. however,his woman apparently made implicating statements regarding that push. it happened in queens like i said. it was the 7 train. she was apparently walking back and forth when all of a sudden, she lunged forward, pushed this man who was then crushed to his death. again the second time this has happened in new york in this month. >> and what if anything do we know, david, about statements that this woman supposedly has made where she may have implicated herself? >> that's a good question. you know, we always have to be careful with these types of things what implication means. whether she's somehow tied or connected to someone that she knows might have done this or whether she herself was the individual who committed this heinous act. it's really not clear. we have calls out to the nypd trying to decipher exactly what

that means and get more clarification. hopefully as the hours proceed and the investigation continues, we'll be able to bring more information to you. >> we hope that too, david ariosto. thank you very much. more snow on the way to the east coast. new york, d.c. seeing some of the action today. it's been brutal weather, at least this week for the people in the midwest, the south and along the east coast, which is almost everybody and the west coast is going to share in this, too. bonnie schneider will have more on which areas can expect the most snow this weekend at the half hour. moving on, internationally now, in india, the young woman gang raped on a new delhi bus has died. she died peacefully in the singapore hospital where she was being treated. authorities plan to add murder charges against the six suspects under arrest in that rape. we have details from new delhi. >> her identity is a secret. but the indian public has given her a name, brave heart. and thousands of people across

the country are taking to the streets to mark this courageous young girl's death. >> we are speechless about what happened with the girl. >> reporter: her brutal gang rape on december 16th has shaken india and triggered an unprecedented outpouring of grief and anger. anger at the system protesters say repeatedly lets its women down. they say delhi isn't a safe place for women. >> common people like us have come out because we feel strongly about this. we feel that we are not safe. you know, our relatives, nobody's safe in the city anymore. we don't really see the government picking up that as an issue. i mean safety is the first thing that you would assure to a citizen, right? >> reporter: this isn't the first time a rape case has been reported. but many more never are, but this case has become a lightning rod in india. dissolution with the government -- protesters say enough is enough.

>> the brutality of this crime and the way it has been handled kind of insensitive treatment that some of the statements that some of the politicians and some of the people have made ensure that not only me -- i mean everybody has come out to see that this is not done and we are not okay with this. >> they want to see the government take concrete steps to address their concerns. >> surely, definitely. then you know, just faster justice systems. you need to have special courts when it's not open to the public. i think that's still a provision, but you need to have more courts and better hearing and stronger systems. >> reporter: it's no longer about one girl or one particular rape case. it's about india's attitude toward its women and about making sure that brave heart did not die in vain. >> in other international news, four people are dead after a plane crashed at the

international airport in moscow. four others injured. eight people were on board, all crew members when the plane apparently overshot the runway. from the roller coaster republican primary race to that infamous phrase "the 47%," 2012 was the year in politics and we've got the top ten stories. and while politicians are still scrambling to reach a deal that will stop your taxes from going up, you're telling us what you think about that fiscal cliff.

>> i would say this is a dramatic understatement. the 2012 political season was filled with memorable moments. how about the 47% or clint

eastwood talking to an empty chair? and todd akin's legitimate rape comment. that's just naming a few. candy crowley looks back at the top ten political stories of 2012. >> reporter: picking the top ten moments of an election year is like finding your favorite grain of sand on the beach. there are an impossible number of possibilities. there are the moments when catch phrases become boomerangs. >> if you got a business, you didn't build that. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> when cast members stole the spotlight. >> i'm an american woman who us contraception. let's start there. >> almost like an etch a sketch, you can shake it up and we start all over again. >> a fair number of moments ranging from ridiculous to explicable. >> i'm not going to shut up. it's my turn. >> i think it's called romnesia. >> if i were to coin a term it would be obamaloney. >> so many moments so much

nonsense. but there were moments that shook up the race or made history and made our top ten list. >> it was seen at the time as a proxy race for november. wisconsin's republican governor scott walker in a showdown with organized labor over budget cuts and collective bargaining power. turns out the end result was no bellwether for the presidential race. walker won the first governor in u.s. history to survive a recall election. and another nod to a republican governor. >> i cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and for the people of our state. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie's full-on embrace of president obama for helping sandy-ravaged new jersey came days before the election and had no noticeable effect on the presidential race, but some republicans think christie didn't have to be that efuse sieve. they'll remember if his name pops up in 2016. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try

to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: from the say what category of entries comes a combo team, missouri senate candidate todd akin and richard murdoch of indiana. >> life is that gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> republican dreams to take control of the senate in 2012 had dwipdalled throughout the year, but akin and maur dock pretty much shut that door in a couple of sentences. two words from mitt romney during the primary reverberated all the way through to november. the wish issue was his plan to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers. >> people who come here illegally won't be able to find work and over time they would self-deport. >> the concept was not by itself responsible for romney's dismal showing among hispanics but it surely greased the skids. also in the category of moments for which romney would like to

have had a mulligan, there was this. >> there are 47% of the people who would vote for the president no matter what. all right? there are 47% who are with him who are dependent upon government who believe they are victims. >> romney called his remarks completely wrong. they also caused the deepest self-inflicted wound of the election. on the flipside -- >> he's going to be the next vice president of the united states. >> romney's vp day may well have been the best moment of his campaign, the selections of congressman paul ryan excited conservatives in a way romney himself had not. how many moments are there in an hour and a half? the president lost all of hem in the first debate. the pictures tell the story of a man who phoned it in, panicking his supporters and providing an opening for romney. and finally, the top three moments of the election best described as history-making politics. a supreme court decision upholding the constitutionality

of obama care. and if that doesn't strike you as political, consider what would have happened on the campaign trail if the high court had struck down the president's signature first term achievement. >> at a certain point i've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> reporter: the first president to endorse same-sex marriage was a daily double moment. good politics aimed at an activist wing of his party base and most certainly history. and finally, the number one political moment of the year is easy during elections. >> cnn projects that barack obama will be re-elected president of the united states. >> we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. we are and forever will be the united states of america.

>> reporter: for auld lang syne, acute confetti and say good-bye to 2012 and all its moments historical and hysterical. candy crowley, cnn, washington. >> thank you for that. 2012 had its share of indelible images. remember this leap of faith which turned out to be a record leap from space? we'll look at the year's most intriguing people. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

after a brutal winter storm caused major headaches for people in the midwest who, well, the east coast, now they can expect guess what, more snow. this weekend, bonnie schneider is here to tell us which areas will be hardest hit.

>> martin, looking at a lot of snow for new england, especially in the southeastern seconds of massachusetts. what's happening with this system is it's doing a meteorological phenomenon called bombing out. it means the low will deepen rapidly. and that will only intensify the storm in terms of bursts of snow as well as strong winds. you can see our radar picture shows we still have lighter snow falling in new york city, northern new jersey, connecticut and into massachusetts. but that rain is kind of sweeping up into nas kaw county in long island and suffolk and it will come down heavy and hard. snowfall totals 3 to 5 inches across parts of pennsylvania with a little bit of more intensity more towards the center of the state. let's zoom into massachusetts, 4 to 8 inches. expect some higher amounts in this region here towards areas of -- sections of connecticut and into much of rhode island. snow across the entire state. and then you see the winter storm warnings extend to coastal maine. we could see up to a foot of snow into areas of coastal new

hampshire and maine especially towards late tonight, early tomorrow. let's time it out for you. notice saturday night at 11:00, storm will be intense. we're expecting brutal winds for much of new england. you can see a little bit of mix in terms of precipitation for the cape and the islands. overall these areas you see in brighter white where we're expecting some of the more intense snowfall. now, the good news with the system is that it's going to be a fast mover. in fact, as we go towards sunday, you'll start to see the storm work its way to the north and it will bring heavy snow to areas of maine. it's not going to stick around too long to dump even more snow. it's a fast-moving storm today, tonight and early tomorrow for new england and the northeast and farce out to the west into the parts of ohio and areas of the mountains of virginia. in terms of travel since it's such a busy weekend between christmas and new year's, we still have airport delays in philadelphia but we're anticipating them throughout the afternoon into areas of the midwest and into the south as well as los angeles.

rain moving into areas of the west coast right now. if you're driving in and around this region, wet weather for today. we really have a mixed bag of nasty weather from coast to coast. martin? >> what about new year's eve especially in times square? >> i think times square should be fine. temperatures will get a little bit colder in the days to come. no big snowstorms are anticipated for new year's eve, which is good. >> all right, bonnie. thanks very much. >> sure. white house. we are engaged in discussions, majority leader and myself and the white house in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation that i can make to my conference and the majority leader can make to his conference and so we'll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours. so i'm hopeful and optimistic. >> that is senator mitch mcconnell reacting after a meeting after which president

obama charged him and the majority leader to come up with a deal to troy to avoid falling over the fiscal cliff. want to bring in brian monroe, editor of cnn politics.com from san antonio, texas. brian, we all know what's at stake, especially that immediate 2% payroll tax increase in everyone's first paycheck of the year. it seems that the president used his bully pulpit to strongly encourage senators to get to work by sending a not so veiled message to themand their constituents. let's listen. >> the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable. why everything always has to wait till the last minute. we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a

politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. not right now. the economy's growing. but sustaining that trend is going to require elected officials to do their jobs. >> o'brien, as we mentioned, you're there deep in the heart of texas. how are people reacting to all of this outside of the beltway? >> you know, martin, there's a real sense of frustration, frustration with the washington process, frustration with the political process, and you know, folks are looking to blame someone if this doesn't work if we indeed go over that cliff. we're seeing that one party may be getting more of the lion's share of the blame than the other. >> and it's clear that the public is very worried about this. here's what people told us in our poll, if we can take a look at that. i mean, it's basically 70% of the public here, very concerned and 28%, kind of a no-brainer here. where is the give and take in

this process? >> well, one of the things that the american public are looking to washington for is a sense of compromise. they know you've got the senate -- the ball's in the senate's court right now. speaker boehner at the house really missed his opportunity when he failed to even get his own plan b through. it's now with the senate and this weekend, you've got the staff from the harry reid and mitch mcconnell's office meeting right now trying to figure out how they can give and get a little to avoid going over the cliff. what's going to happen, it's got to come out of compromise because not everyone gets what they want. if we go over the cliff as our latest poll has shown that everyone is upset with the process but the republicans will tend to get more of the blame for taking us over that cliff even though it might be the president who won't accept the last deal that they put on the table. so it's a lot of brinks mappship right now. >> there is and a lot of finger pointing going on and clearly democrats are looking at polls

and seeing it appears the public for the most part lining up behind the president. but isn't it quite possible just as you point out that the president could be the one that takes us over the cliff because the democrats feel that they don't have as much to lose as the republicans could when it comes to their public percept n perception? >> and the president's made it very clear about his line in the sand and that is not to the continue the tax cuts for the wealthy. first of all, $250,000, those making $250,000 and over. now he inched it up to $400,000. speaker boehner had his level at a million. there's got to to be some place in between where they come to agreement or indeed we're going to go over the cliff. wall street will punish the american political system and the economy heavily. it may not happen the first couple days if they're able to get it together, but if it lasts up through inauguration, then we've got some real problems. >> who do you think the public is going to blame if that indeed, happens? >> if you look at our latest

polling, the cnn/orc slowed that more than 53% of the american public think it is the republicans' fault. their lack of being willing to compromise. we even asked them which side is more extreme or willing to compromise. the public thinks the democrats and president are more willing. it's going to come down to compromise. >> compromise has been the key to america all along. byron, thanks very much for talking to us all the way from texas. much appreciate it. >> thanks, martin. cancer diagnosis didn't stop one man. instead at 79, it is spurring him to achieve another goal as a marathon runner. and then a gang rape in india's capital has outraged an entire nation. we'll tell you why protesters are holding vigils today. [ tylenol bottle ] nyquil what are you doing?

[ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion? sure don't you? [ nyquil bottle ] dude! [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

. >> hello, and welcome back to cnn "newsroom." i'm martin savidge. let's take a look at the top stories. right now on capitol hill, senators are hard at work trying to avoid taking the country off ha fiscal cliff. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell arrived earlier today at the capital for talks. yesterday he and other leaders met the white house with the president and vice president aiming to avoid tax hikes and

may vote on a deal as early as sunday. police now have a woman in custody in connection with the death of a man pushed in front of a new york city subway train on thursday. detectives arrested a woman who they said said things that implicated hadder in the death sun and doe sen. this is the sketch of that suspect. in india, the young woman gang raped on a new delhi bus is dead. doctors say she died peacefully at the hospital where she was being treated. employees plan to add murder charges against the six suspects already in custody and arrested on rape. the charges will be filed next thursday. angry protesters have been demanding justice and more protection for women and police expect more demonstrations in the days to come. a large crowd cheers the first couple to get married under maine's new same-sex marriage law. stephen bridges and michael snell of port land tied the knot just after midnight this

morning. >> it's very surreal still. we didn't expect all the cameras and everything tonight. >> we finally feel equal and happy to live in maine. >> it's official now. after nine years, it's all good. >> yeah. >> voters in maine and maryland approved same-sex marriage in november. don wright is not going to let a little thing like cancer keep from his goal running a marathon in every state. he's well on which is way to achieving that goal. he's an unusual patient in another way experimenting with a new approach to his disease. here's dr. sanjay gupta with today's "human factor." >> don's career spanned engineering, being a company vice president and the law. and at age 62, he discovered a new passion. marathons. eight years ago, just days after running his first 26-mile race though, he got some devastating

news. >> i had gone to the doctor a couple of times for pain in my back. it was multiple myeloma. >> this is a chancer of the blood where the white blood cells invade bone marrow causing pain, usually in the back or the ribs. and patients are rarely cured. but wright refused to let that slow him down, even qualifying for the boston marathon. >> i got this devastating diagnosis, and we just, my family and i, we just kept on going. you know, there wasn't any reason to stop and be sorry, you know? we kept running marathons. >> incredibly in the last eight years, wright who is now 70 has run 60 marathons in 41 states and his wife and daughter have beeny his side for most of them. his goal is to run a marathon in every state. >> finally after boston we started to pick off states. never imagining -- well imagining it yes, but never expecting to be able to finish

all 50. now i'm really hoping for it. >> reporter: never expected that he could fulfill his dream because the median survival for his cancer is just five years. he's had a number of treatments that failed. but for the last three years, he's taken an experimental drug. it's just one pill at night and it's kept the cancer at bay. >> and it doesn't cure the cancer, but it keeps it stable. so it's not hurting me. and i can still run. and i can still enjoy life and i'm riding that for all it's worth. >> he has advice to others facing what seem like insurmountable odds. take charge of your own destiny. and never give up hope. >> great advice. thank you, sanjay. you can catch and jay later today at 4:30 p.m., of course, eastern on sanjay gupta md. this year has been filled with a lot of great moments. big achievements and, of course, tragedy.

still ahead, what you the viewer chose as your top ten most intriguing people of this year. and we've seen some record-setting films in 2012. what's in store for '13? we'll preview the best films of next year.

welcome to chevy's year-end event. so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. now through january 2nd, no monthly payments until spring for qualified buyers.

get the silverado for 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪ you helped us pick the most intriguing people of 2012, the results are in, and they include headliners in politics, sports, business and entertainment.

here's brooke baldwin. >> number 10, supreme court chief justice john roberts. >> the united states supreme court in a major decision a 5-4 decision oppose ed up holds the president's esis reform law. >> the deciding vote was cast by the chief justice himself. conservatives stunned. liberals perplexed but thrilled. fojing ahead the roberts' court takes on same-sex marriage. >> number nine. yahoo! ceo marissa mayer. at 37, head of a major tech company. a ceo in a philly dominated field, pregnant. it's the baby part that became problematic, shall we say, when maier decided to take just a couple of weeks for maternity leave. the mommy blogosphere went nuts. sure, she could be woman in charge, but what message was she sending by not staying home

longer with her baby? >> number 8, south korean wrapper psy. >> gangnam style. ♪ >> say what you want his lasso inspired dance style first discovered on youtube had everyone going gangnam. and we mean everyone. >> the lasso again and then the horse back. >> gangnam style. whoop, whoop. >> psy was riding high in 2012, star performer in the most watched youtube video of all time. ♪ number seven, republican presidential candidate mitt romney. >> this election is over. but our principles endure. >> romney ran on his impressive business credentials but it was his multiple gaffes during the campaign that analysts say helped seal his fate.

remember the 47% comments. >> 47% are with him who are dependent upon him. >> oh, and this one. >> binders full of women. >> number six this ex-cia director general david petraeus. got some breaking news coming in regarding the chief of the cia. general david petraeus. >> general petraeus, can you talk about this please. >> the news was unexpected. the reason, shocking. petraeus, a retired four-star general, had quit his cia post and admitted he had cheated on his wife. his mistress was also his biograervegs paula broadwell, an embarrassing exit from the public stage by one of the most respected public servants of his time. >> so who rounds out the list and who did you vote an the most intriguing person of the year? the answer when is we come back. plus, our 2013 movies preview. find out which films our critic

says you should look out for. [ cellphone chirping ] [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ] [ male announcer ] the sprint drive first app. blocks and replies to texts while you drive. we can live without the &. visit sprint.com/drive. well, if itmr. margin?margin. don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob.

i know. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. . as promised let's take a look at the rest of the top ten most intriguing people you selected for 2012. here's again, brooke baldwin.

>> reporter: number five, super jumper felix baumgartner. let's face it, he did what no human has ever done, diving 24 miles from the edge of space. >> under way. >> breaking the sound barrier along the way. >> i'm still the same guy. but as soon as you start traveling people do recognize my face. >> i was scared. >> you were scared? >> i was a little bit scared. >> reporter: number four, new jersey governor chris christie. >> the shore and the boardwalk in seaside heights of my childhood no longer exists. >> governor. >> thank you for everything. >> the rough and tumble governor took charge when a superstorm named sandy ravaged his state days before the presidential election. a romney backer suddenly christie was standing arm in arm with the president, praising mr. obama's leadership as they

toured sandy's wrath. >> when you know you have responsibility for those folks, you could geb a damn about the politics of things. i could care less today. >> reporter: number three, olympian gabby douglas. >> gabby douglas. >> one of the fab five at the london games, she captured our hearts, becoming the first african-american gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same olympics. >> i wanted to inspire a nation, and whole point about this is inspire a generation and i love that. >> she did just that. number two, school age activists malala rose to fame blogging about the brutality of her life in pakistan under taliban rule. not yet a teenager, she dared to suggest girls not only deserve

but have a right to an education. >> i will get my education if it is in home, school or any place. >> the taliban retaliated hunting her down, shooting her in the neck and back. the attack outraged even hardened pakistanis and all around the world, malala quickly became an international symbol of good against evil. today, she is recovering in england. number one, president barack obam obama. >> tonight, you voted for action. not politics as usual. >> after a long and we mean long and bitter campaign, president obama won re-election 2340g 12, the president also won the supreme court's stamp of approval for his health care reform program and made history with this statement. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. ♪

>> as 201 comes to a close, the president joined in grief with a community shocked by senseless violence. >> these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. >> brooke baldwin, cnn, atlanta. >> another ironman, another anchor man, another star trek, so many sequels to look forward to in 2013. our movie critic tells us which ones she is most excited about. e great. yeah, its the galaxy note ii. you can do two things at the same time. you can watch videos and text. or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work.

i will keep up the good work. do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii. yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

anchorman, another star trek. 2013 looks like it's going to be one of those years of the great movie sequel. gray drake senior editor of rotten tomatos.com is here to tell us what movies to look forward to next year. nice to see you. >> i'm wearing my new year's top hat to celebrate. >> you carry it off extremely well. so many sequels and other great movies really to look forward to. i've said the movies over the holiday and you get to watch the trailers. which ones are your favorites? >> i normally don't get that excited over sequels but 2013 looks like it's going to be amazing. first and foremost, because of anchorman 2, the legend of ron burgundy continues.

right? when i first saw this movie in 2004, i just immediately rushed out, bought my sex panther cologne and have been spearing people with tridents ever since. what bodes well for this one is they wayed a long time to make this one and the entire cast is back. great sign, and even though the first one was kind of lightning in a bottle, i have my fingers and toes crossed. >> i feel that i truly am the model for ron burgundy, if you look at my facebook page with the early pictures of me, i am that man. excited about the sequel. >> i love it. you have the voice too. >> thanks. how about some others besides anchorman? we've got iron man, no direct reference to me, but what do you think of that one? >> no, i don't know about that. look at those bicepses. now, "iron man 3" is led, again by robert downey junior who i think was born to play this role and based on the trailer, this one looks pretty dark.

it looks very dark nooistesque and this is when robert downey junior can really show us his acting chops. director shane black is new to the franchise. it is going to be funny, but honestly, the trailer makes me think we're going to get guaeth paltrow in peril and nothing gets me more excited than that. >> a lot of other people, it's not just you. i saw this preview "star trek." truly i am an old trekkie fan. but this is the prequel continuing, right? >> right. now, i don't know anything about this movie, and that's what's got me so excited along with everybody else on message boards and the internet because we don't know who the villain is. j. j. abrams, the king of the lens flare did a great job with the last star trek movie revitalizing the franchise and keeping the things alive that made the original series fantastic. i think this one is going to be even better if that's possible,

and all's i know is that benedict coupler batch is coming in. he's the mysterious bad guy. his name is fun to say and he's even more fun to watch. >> i love these shows and certainly prequels are fascinating. i love to see how shatner and bones came about. all of those revelations in the first one were really cool. how they carry that forward in the second one, we'll have to wait and see. how about the lone ranger? and this one, i don't know, it seems like it's a real potential gamble. >> well, i think it's risky but in the hands of disney, i think anything is possible. and we haven't seen the lone ranger" anywhere for decades. >> right. >> and so this is another example of how i think that they've really been waiting to do this one right. so the stars of the movie give me a lot of confidence. army hammer is playing the lone ranger and he is fantastic. he was in j edgar" and great in

goss tip girl" which is not something you'll here me say often. >> we don't have time to talk about the great and powerful oz but i've seen the trailers. and but again, you're dealing with a franchise many people know and that's the wizard much oz. >> that one is simple math. top hat plus james franco equals hello. >> well put i think. happy new year, grae drake from rotten tomatos.com. we'll see you at the movies as the phrase goes. >> happy new year. >> and to you. all the day's stories are just three minutes away. including a behind thescopies look at the negotiations to avoid that looming fiscal cliff. plus, the ten biggest scandals of 2012. they involve some of the most well-known names in sports, politics and entertainment. and what were the hottest apps of the year? well, we will tell you and reveal what app you need to watch for in 2013. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit.

i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, -- captions by vitac -- or afte. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. with chantix and with the support system it worked. it worked for me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. now through january 2nd, no monthly payments until spring for qualified buyers. get the silverado for 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance.

>> happy new year from germany. it's the top of the hour. you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm martin savidge. let's a pleasure to be with you. right now in the nation's capital, senators are working to try to keep all of us from going off that fiscal cliff. we've been talking about that

for what seems like, well, forever. they've got to reach a deal by new year's day. here's what's happening right now. senate leaders on both sides are trying to reach a budget deal hoping to avert a 2% hike in everyone's paychecks early next year. plus 2 million unemployed people stand to lose their jobless benefits. jessia yellen, the president says he's optimistic but he sure had a firm tone after meeting with the senate and house leaders yesterday. let's just give that a listen. >> so the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is deja vu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable. why everything always has to wait till the last minute. well, we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a

politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. not right now. the economy's growing. but sustaining that trend is going to require elected officials to do their jobs. >> so jessica, are they doing their jobs? just at the last minute here? >> well, congress does have an unfortunate pattern of getting everything done at the 11th hour. martin, if they do reach some sort of deal and vote on it, before new year's eve which is still feasible, there is a window of opportunity for that now, we will say that they did what they needed to do and they're doing their jobs at the last minute. but if we go over the cliff, congress and all of washington, frankly, will get a black eye for this. and we'll be judged very harshly, we all know that and they'll still have a lot to clean-up in the new year because even if they cobble together this agreement that staffs are working on on capitol hil right now, it will be far scaled down from what's needed and there will still be an enormous amount

of work to do both on deficit reduction and tax reform, not to mention dealing with massive spending cuts which by most accounts are not likely to be involved in the agreement. don't know that for sure, but that's our understanding going in, martin. >> i think it's a safe bet. both sides have different wants. so what's holding these two sides apart when the this he know that so very much is on the line for everyday americans? >> it's a great question. i mean, what's really holding them apart are massive ideological differences. this is about government's role in your life. democrats want more of a social safety net, republicans prioritize lower taxes. and that's what distinguishes the democratic and the republican parties sop so that's what they're fundamentally fighting about. if you break it down to the basic deal points right now, democrats say this smaller deal should include a tax increase for households that make $250,000 and more. an extension of unemployment benefits as you pointed out for

about 2 million americans, a delay of those massive spending cuts we've all talked about, an increase in the estate tax. republicans say in this deal what they would prefer to see is a limit in the tax increase for the highest earners and a way to avoid that estate tax increase. no delay in those spending cuts so they can argue about that as leverage in the new year and find a way to pay for those unemployment benefits because republicans prefer if we're going to spend, fiend a way to pay for it, don't add to our deficit. martin? >> so let's just say that senators mcconnell and reid don't reach a deal on sunday. is there a fallback plan? >> not go over the cliff. i mean, the president is calling for both houses to vote on a democratic measure to just raise taxes on people who make $250,000 and more households that do. but it's a democratic measure. it probably has the votes, but

because it's a democratic proposal that's passionately opposed for philosophical reasons by republicans, it will be blocked. and so that will go nowhere. that's not a fallback proposal. that's a political proposal. so no, as of now, it's really this whole thing is in mitch mcconnell and harry reid's hands. >> all right, jessica yellin, thank you very much. >> thanks. in other news, police have a woman in custody in the case of a man pushed to his death from a subway platform in new york. david ariosto is live in new york with this new development. let me ask you, first of all, how did they find her? i mean was that police sketch helpful? >> that's what they're saying. they picked her up based on that sketch. we do know that this woman is a hispanic woman, she's in her 30s. we also know she has not yet been formally charged. so the question of whether or not this is indeed the woman who was seep on that security video,

it seems to be the case. it's not yet confirmed by police but they are saying that the sketch is what led them to her. now, this is a case that has riled all of new york. especially in queens, particularly that section where i live, many people are concerned about this. have read about this in the papers and many people take the subway to work every day. 8.58 million people live in the city and many of those people take the subway. sort of the life blood of the city as it were. this is the second time now that we've seen within this month that we've seen someone being pushed to their deathing in the subway system. one happened earlier this month in times square when a man was pushed to his death. the culprit in that case has been charged with homicide. it's not clear if this woman will be charged in the death we saw occur on thursday, but the investigation continues. >> and i think it was said there were some statements she made that seemed to self-implicate her. what do we know about that? >> that seems to be the lynchpin of this. when she was picked up, it was the statement she made that sort

of implicated her in regard to what transpired on that platform in queens on thursday. what those statements were, what she said, and whether that actually brings police to file formal charges in regard to this man's death or whether she was somehow connected to the person who did this, not clear yet. hopefully we'll get that information shortly. >> yeah, david, thank you very much for the update. in international news, in india, the young woman gang raped on a new delhi bus has died. doctors say she died piecefully at the hop where she was being treated. authorities plan to add murder charges against the six suspects arrested in the rape. the charges will be filed thursday. angry protesters have been demanding justice and more protection for women. and police expect more demonstrations in the days to come. >> today, we pledge that she will get justice, that her fight will not have been in vain. to all of you who have stood vigil, who have expressed your

anger and anguish publicly who, have poured out in her support, i want to assure you that your voice has been heard. as a woman, and mother, i understand how you feel. >> a medical team in singapore is conducting an autopsy on the victim who has remained unidentified. back here at home, we're keeping our eyes on a snowstorm that will affect the east coast this weekend. take a look at d.c. earlier today. well, sort of take a look. snow came pouring in, and it is expected to do the same in other areas along the east coast. bonnie schneider is here to tell us which areas will be hardest hit. >> looking at the snow in d.c., it looks so menacing but it won't be. you're not going to get a lot of snow there. massachusetts and rhode island, take a look because i have updated information for you. we're monitoring the track of this area of low pressure.

because the track has moved a little bit further to the west, we're likely to see this system just bring more snowfall to the region. another factor, of course, is it that it's bombing out offshore. that's a meteorological term. it means the pressure drops very rapidly intensifying the snowfall rates meaning 1 to 2 inches per hour tonight. right now in new york city, you're getting snow. but take a look at the winter storm warnings. they've been expanded further to the west. they're now encompassing parts of upstate new york and northern pennsylvania. and then as we look kind of zoom into the region, you'll see boston 4 to 8 inches, maybe nine in some areas. and this is new information. we're anticipating an area interior sections of new england region, particularly into northern sections, northeastern connecticut and into southeastern massachusetts where we could see and most of northern rhode island up to a foot of snow. so we're raising those snowfall rates a little bit as we go through the day and then you can also see heavy snow is

anticipated into maine particularly later tonight into early on sunday. so here's the low, and as i mentioned, loo look how close it is to martha's vineyard in nantucket. because of that proximity, we're likely to see very strong winds in this region. when i talk about snowfall rates 1 to 2 inches per hour, that happens tonight. if you're in the northeast and wondering if i can travel reggie not tonight. the city of boston issued a state of emergency for snow to limit people that wanted to go out tonight after 9:00. you can't be doing parking or anything like that because of the snowfall rates coming in so fast and furious. so limit your travel tonight. it's important to note eventually the storm will push off to the northeast. but this is going to be a big snowmaker and it's going to happen very quickly. >> real quick, new york new year's eve, how is it looking? >> much colder. in fact, i wanted to show you the new year's eve forecast. we're dropping into the 30s and into the 20s into the overnight period. if you're heading to times square, you know it's always

cold. this year it will be below freezing when the ball drops. elsewhere across the corrupt, pretty cold this new year's in many locations. i can't find too many warm spots except miami if you're heading to south beach, lows drop into the upper 60s. i guess that's to be expected. >> bonnie, thank you very much. >> sure. >> smartphone apps, some are real standouts. the best apps of 2012, plus the biggest scandals. there's plenty to choose from in 2012, we'll reveal the most can dal lous of all the year's scandals and will this weekend see a fiscal cliff finale? three days are left before the deadline and negotiations are intensifying. [ female announcer ] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up.

and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here.

>> my new year's message to washington is this. please put an end to the outrageous billion dollar tax shelters for google and other big corporations. please fix that before you push senior citizens over the cliff. >> my new year's message to washington is to grow up, act like adults, do your jobs or resign immediately. we are tired of your being useless and refusing to do your jobs. >> a game of beat the clock. right now on capitol hill, and you guessed it, it's fiscal cliff countdown time. senate leaders on both sides now trying to reach a deal to prevent a huge tax hike on the middle class come the first of the year. senators warn that is not going to be easy. >> i'm going to do everything that i can. i'm confident senator mcconnell will do the same. but everybody, this is whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect. some people aren't going to like it, some people will like it

less, but that's where we are, and i feel confident that we have an obligation to do the best we can and that was made very clear in the white house. we're going do the best we can for the caucuses that we have and the country that's waiting for us to make a decision. paul bran disis the bureau chief of the west wing report in washington. and paul, you are a well-known veteran of all things washington. what is really going on behind the scenes right now as we wait to learn if they can reach a compromise or not? >> you know, the sound bite you ran at the top of this piece just i think showed the frustration that so many people have about this, and i think what we're really going to see here is kind of a the phrase small ball is back. we're not going to get any kind of a grand bargain, a term that's been tossed around lately. i think all we're going to get is simply a smaller tax deal. the big thing is things are going to work out -- they're going to work out something that will keep taxes rising for most people. the main point of disagreement,

of course, remains this will kick over into the new year what to do about folks making i think probably $250,000 or more although the $400,000 figure has been kicked about, as well. and the other thing probably that appears to be on the table extending unemployment insurance for 2 million americans. that appears to be it. the other things that we're going to hear, by the way, is this well familiar sound that we're all used to hearing and that is metal on asphalt, in other words the can being kicked down the road. everything else i think is going to be kicked over into january and all we're going to get if we get it at all in fact is going to be a very small deal on taxes and perhaps unemployment insurance. and that is it. >> harry reid prolsed if he and the republican leaders cannot reach a deal, that the democrats will bring it to a vote. part of the president's original plan to good-bye a tax breaking to anyone learning less than $250,000. doesn't this put all of the senators on the spot forcing them to take a position on this middle class tax relief?

>> well, i think it certainly does although i think the main pressure is going to be on the house republicans, keep in mind about a week ago, they shot down jane boehner's so-called plan b. that plan would have raised taxes only on folks earning a million dollars or more. boehner couldn't even get that through. so the question now is, what on earth are they going to do to get them to vote on raising taxes at a much lower threshold, $250,000. i think what boehner will have to do and the clock is clearly ticking, he has to convince not a majority of the majority, the so-called hastert roll but whatever he can to get enough votes, period drawing from nancy pelosi's caucus and his own to get this true. >> how severe do you think the backlash would be against republicans, especially say looking forward to 2014, midterm

elections? >> well, polls seem to show that most people will blame republicans for this if we go over the cliff. they already have this reputation of being obstructists and the spending cuts about by the way, i don't think they're going to do anything about that now. so i think these spending cuts are going to go into effect at least in the january. so that means i think if there's such a thing as going partially over the cliff, i think we'll probably do that. so $1.2 trillion spread out over ten years, that begin in january. unless they can find a way to avert that. of course, about half of that comes down on the military side. so you've got a lot of people in that sector and others who are very nervous about the spending cuts. i don't think they're going to do anything about that at the moment. >> paul brandus, the bureau chief of the west wing report in washington. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you, sir. >> nra leaders remain staunchly opposed to tougher gun laws. that's two weeks after the newtown massacre. but one lawmakers thinks that

the nra members actually favor new laws. and ex-cia military director and top military man david petraeus now on top of the list of this year's worst scandals.

as americans grapple with how to curb gun violence after the newtown massacre, nra leaders remain opposed to tougher laws. but one lawmaker thinks that the stance of the nra leadership is out of step with its members. joining me now is virginia congressman jim moran. briefly, let me ask you first about the fiscal cliff because i have you here. you and your members will get

back to work tomorrow. i'm wondering is there going to be a last ditch effort to avoid this and what do you think is going to happen? >> i think the likelihood is that we go over the cliff, martin. and, of course, that's my primary focus because my congressional district would be the hardest hit if beat go over the fiscal cliff. i've got tens of thousands of federal employees and a great deal of defense spending would be at risk. so if we don't suspend the sequester and it looks like this very small deal may not even achieve that, then i'd have to be a "no" vote. so if i had to guess right now, i don't think we're going to be able to reach a deal no matter how small it might be. of course, at the very best, all we would do is stumble forward for a couple more months until we hit the debt ceiling and then face another crisis which is really a crisis of confidence in the government. i just can't imagine that the american people can tolerate

this much longer, but they're stuck with this congress for the next two years. i mean, i have a lot of thoughts on this fiscal cliff but you wanted to talk about the gun measure, and -- >> i do indeed. >> life has to go on. >> we had that provocative phrasing that it appeared the nra may be out of step with its own membership. do you really believe that? >> yes, i do, martin. frank luntz, a republican pollster polled nra members and he found that there are at least five major provisions where at least two-thirds of the membership supports even though the leadership of the nra and, of course, the gun manufacturers who pay their salaries don't necessarily support. but the -- they oppose them. one would be background checks on purchasers and gunshop employees. 40% of guns bought today don't require a background check because of the gun show loophole and gunshop employees don't

require background checks. people that are on the terrorist watch list should not be able to buy a firearm for an explosive. the gao found in an investigation that 1,321 people on the terrorist watch list bought firearms or explosives and in 91% of the cases the fbi was powerless to stop them. likewise, the nra members feel that if you have a gun that's lost or stolen, you ought to report it within 48 hours. 600,000 guns were lost or stolen last year that were unreported. so it's things like that that we need to -- >> i'm sorry, congressman. i don't want to run out of time because it's an important conversation. are these the issues that you wish to deal with the legislation you're proposing now? >> yes. well, that's what would be included in the bill. and i know we would have the support of the vast majority of the american people and the

majority of nra members. >> how do you know that? >> well, because of this poll that has -- that can gop pollster took and found that most nra members are not nearly as extreme as the nra leadership is on this. so i think there's a possibility of getting some common sense gun control measures passed. and you know, i know it doesn't look like this congress can do anything, but i think we need to try, and i think if we have the support of the nra members, we have an opportunity. you know, for concealed carry permits which they want to extend to every state, there are at least ought to be some minimum standards. for example, you ought to be an adult in order to be able to get a concealed carry permit. so those are common sense measures. i think we start with those. and we have a dialogue, as senator mansion and others suggested, see if we can at least make some progress on an issue that you know, has to be

addressed. if we don'ten respond after the sandy hook elementary school massacre, we really are complicit in the next massacre of innocent children and we've got to ask ourselves, is our political future really more important than the lives of these innocent children. >> congressman jim moran, thank you very much for coming in and speaking to us about the legislation today. thank you. >> you bet. down to the wire. congressional leaders scrambling to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff before tuesday's deadline. milk, get this, milk $7 a gallon? it could happen if congress doesn't pass a new farm bill. and then smartphone apps. we'll tell you the best buys of 2012. i know. i'm will, and this is the nokia lumia 920 from at&t. it's got live tiles so all my stuff's always right there in real-time. it's like the ultimate personal assistant. but i'm me, and me needs handlers. so i hired todd to handle it for me. todd, gimme that hollywood news!

what's happening on twitter? you're trending! yes! you can't have a todd, but you can have your own personal assistant. i guess you could call it todd. [ male announcer ] the new nokia lumia 920 with live tiles that deliver what you want in real time. only from at&t. rethink possible. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro.

aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪

>> welcome back. i'm martin savidge. let's take a look at our top stories. lawmakers working on a rare holiday weekend and they're trying to avoid going over that fiscal cliff. if they don't reach a deal by tuesday, nearly everybody's taxes are going to go up and 2 million people stand to lose unemployment benefits. using this new york city police sketch, a woman is now in custody in connection with the death of a man pushed from a subway platform. police say she made incriminating comments about the death of sunando sen. a woman is seen on the platform and later pushing sen in front of that train. four of the people charged with the rape and murder of an indian woman on a bus were already facing rape charges. she died from injuries sustained in that brutal gang attack on a moving bus in delhi.

a medical team in singapore is now conducting an autopsy on the unidentified woman. a total of six people have been charged. the u.s. embassy offered its condolences and that attack has sparked a wave of protests across the nation. more snow on the way to the east coast expected to move quickly but ease up by tomorrow. d.c. seeing some of that action today. it's already been a brutal weather week in some parts of the midwest, south and along the east coast. if the u.s. falls off that fiscal cliff, taxes aren't the only things that could go up. milk prices could also skyrocket. here's margot spam with our affiliate wisc. >> the u.s. da recommends two to throwings of dairy every day and penny wants to make sure her grandchildren are receiving that. >> these are the growing years for them. >> the cost of putting that on the table could go up. that concerns dairy farmers like pat o'brien. >> my fear is that we're going

to see people turning away from buying my product if the price gets too high. >> reporter: since the farm bill expired earlier this year, the milk marketing board is concerned producers like o'brien won't know what to expect during the next four years. >> if the farm bill is not replaced or extended, it reverts back to some legislation that goes back to 1949. and that has to do with the government buying surplus dairy products. and then using those numbers to determine what the price of milk is. >> if things go back to the parity level as established then, we're going to see our milk prices double, and that means that that price is going to have to be passed onto the consumer and the consumer can see $7, $9 milk. >> robson says they hope legislators will reach a decision soon. >> in discussions on the fiscal

cliff, any changes or extensions or whatever to the farm bill could be included in any legislation as passed there. >> i certainly hope they can resolve things here by the end of the year, but it doesn't look very favorable. >> and a reminder, the senate passed a farm bill in june. supporters are calling on lawmakers in the house to now follow suit. he was a horrified high school student who watched the twin towers fall from his classroom window. now he's a young veteran and his life has come full cl back to ground zero. gary tuchman will have his story. >> born in new york city -- >> i'm originally from lower manhattan, alphabet city. >> at 14 years old, he witnessed the 9/11 attacks from his high school classroom. >> i saw cars that were littered with dust. i saw people in business suits that were littered in dust. >> in 2006, he enlisted in the army. >> i actually swore in the day before my 19th birthday, and a

couple weeks later, i shipped off to basic. >> after two towers in afghanistan, ricardo benejam's service ended in 2011. coming home wasn't easy. >> the first week or so, i would be waking up and i'm like i'm going to be late for formation. i'm like there's no more formation. i think what actually helped me transition better is i started school right after i got out. >> he's just two semesters away from getting his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. he says his veteran status and the struggling economy stifled his job search. >> some of the challenges are just getting people to actually hire us. >> ricardo found help from the wounded warrior project. >> warriors to work is an employer-friendly program that allows our military professionals to transition noose civilian life. >> had i an on site interview with linda and i shared with her my resume. within a couple weeks, i had an interview set up. >> his new job is another chapter to the unique relationship he has with the

city and this site. he, would at the 9/11 memorial. >> working down there, it's like you're continuing to serve because you're telling the story of what happened and what was there before. >> today he's answering questions about the survivor tree. >> it's the only tree that actually survived the initial attacks it's actually survived not only the attacks itself but two nor'easters and two hurricanes. >> he is too a survivor, thriving in his life after the military. gary tuchman, cnn. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth.

i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ sighs ] thanks! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook.

as 2012 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at year that was. two of the world's best known palaces, buckingham and sesame street were rocked by controversy. joe johns looks at the top ten scandals of the year. >> number ten, royalty gone wild. this year the british royal jewels got a public viewing. prince harry got caught in his birthday suit playing strip billiards. but when dutch easy catherine was photographed in various states of undress while on vacation with prince william, it was the photographers who became targets of outrage. number nine, going out of bounds. the nfl has made it a major mission to crack down on concussions. so it was unpleasant for the

league to learn in march that the new orleans saints had a bounty system from 2009 to 2011. paying team members for big hits that knocked opposing players out of the game. .commissioner rog are goodal responded with harsh suspensions for the general manager and coaches. initially, the league also suspended a handful of players but later overturned that decision. number eight, the wheels fly off the bike. cycling superstar lance armstrong had endured the swirl of steroid rumors for years, but that all changed in august. the seven-time tour de france winner was stripped of his titles, lost his sponsorships, even left the board of his famous cancer charity live strong after the u.s. anti-doping agency found that he engaged in a long-term pattern of blood doping during his career. armstrong still denies using performance-enhancing drugs. number seven, wrong side of the street. few things are more universal for american children than sesame street and elmo which makes the elmo sex scandal all the more shocking.

kevin clash resigned as the iconic voice of elmo after allegations surfaced that years ago, had he sexual contact with underage males. the show says no one there knew anything about it. number six, congress behaving badly. the whiff of scandal doesn't mean you can't win a race for congress. democratic congressman jesse jackson junior of illinois was re-elected even though he was absent for months due to mental health issues and underfederal investigation, for misusing congressional resources. weeks after the election, he resigned. during the campaign, allegations surfaced ta pro-life republican congressman scott day jar lay of tennessee had urged his pregnant mistress to get an abortion a decade ago. he denied she was pregnant or had an abortion and he was re-elected by 12 points. number five, libor pants on fire. even if you've never heard of libor, it probably has an impact on your finances the trt rates on mortgages and credits cards

are determined in part at the rate banks borrow from each other called libor. in june, barclays paid more than half a million dollars for manipulating the interest rates and investigations are still on going. the sheer scale of it is huge. it made bernie madoff look like a skid row pickpocket. number four, big trouble in communist china. everybody thought one of the most powerful politicians in china party chief boojili was getting rid of crime and corruption till this summer when a court convicted his wife of murdering a british business man and the government accused him of trying to hinder the investigation as well as taking bribes and abusing his power. now he's been kicked out of the communist party. leaders voted to expel him in november number three, a service becomes not so secret. the role of protecting the president when he trabs abroad has moments of glamour and

excitement. that included hookers for some is secret service agents and military personnel visiting cartagena in advance of the president's arrival last april. it won't have bothered colombian authorities since prostitution sgs legal there. local police only got involved because of a hotel altercation between a woman and a secret service agent over the payment. number two, it's been called the building that never sleeps but the bbc's london headquarters says it was completely unaware of the serious allegations involving long-time presenter the late jimmy an seville. their show investigated allegations of child sex abuse but failed to air a report what it may have discovered about an alleged abuser within their midst. six people have been arrested so far and the bbc's director general has resigned. number one, david petraeus's blown cover. the career of retired four-star general and cia director david

petraeus was brought to an end by e-mails. here's what happened. last spring, his biographer paul lal broadwell wrote anonymous e-mails to jill kelley warning her to stay away from high lank ranking hirlt officers. kelly complained to a friend in the fbi which led to an investigation with unexpected consequences. the fbi discovered e-mail exchanges between broadwell and petraeus showing she was also his mistress. petraeus resigned from the cia just days after the election. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> and you won't want to miss our top ten of 2012 special as cnn revisits the stories that captured the country's attention. it airs right here on cnn sunday night at 8:00 eastern. well, from sharing photos to navigating through traffic, smartphone apps this year helped us to do a lot of great things. we'll count down the top four of

the year and tell you which apps to look out for in 2013. tyeah, its the galaxy note ii.re great. you can do two things at the same time. you can watch videos and text. or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work. i will keep up the good work. do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours.

but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing,

ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. randy zuckerberg, former facebook executive and sister of

ceo mark zuckerberg, remember? yeah, well, she says there's no hard feelings after a private photo of her was posted on twitter. she said a family photo on facebook was just meant to be seen by friends but a lot of people who don't like facebook's privacy controls may have thought that it was only fair that the zuckerberg family experienced that overshare. zuckerberg says it's about etiquette, not privacy. and that all is well. well, with countless apps for your cell phone or tablet, how can you figure out which ones are best? cnn tech reporter lori siegel has her list of the top five apps of 2012. >> hi, martin. 2012 nearing an end so we decided to take a look at the hottest apps of the year. the first one is instagram. the company lets you add filters to photos and share them with friends. they sold for $1 billion to facebook and had only a handful of employees at the time they sold. very popular, but i'll say

they're no stranger to controversy. in terms of service update, the company recently said it was going to allow users' photos to be sold to advertisers. but they soon backtracked after massive user backlash. path is a limited social network. you can actually share everything from what you're listening to to where you are. that might sound familiar but the company really got its start during a bit of a facebook backlash. the idea was share what matters most with the friends and family that really matter the most to you. that's why you're only limited on to 150 friends. it was created by one of facebook's early employees. it really started gaining traction this year. next one up, google maps. this got a lot of attention towards the end of the year when the iphone 5 came out with apple maps, apple maps weren't exactly accurate. it was only a matter of time till google launched its google maps app. lots of complaints about accuracy and detail and, of course, many cries for google maps. it had 20 million downloads in

just 4 hours. here's one to look out for the new year, snap chat. a photo messaging apps. here's the part that's really interesting. your photos and messages can disappear within seconds. users decide how long the receiver has to actually preview the photo. it's being used in all sorts of ways as you can imagine. since its launch, the company has shared over 1 billion photos. definitely one to look out for as we head into 2013. >> lori now joins us live from new york. you say this is really going to be a huge app in 2013? >> sure, we saw what instagram how popular photo sharing apps for your devices are. the thing about snap chat, it's a little controversial because the messages completely disappear within up to ten seconds. i could sends you a message and you won't have it after ten seconds. that's being used in all sorts of ways. a lot of teenagers are using this for sexting, sending different messages. a little controversy but you know you're doing something

right when facebook decides to imitate you. just a week ago, facebook launched a copycat app called facebook's poke app. now facebook actually has an app doing exactly what snap chat is doing. i always say you're doing something right if facebook is copying you. we're going to hear a lot about this in 2013. >> privacy issues are there some concerning snap chat? >> sure, look this whole app is built around privacy or the fact that i could send you a message and it will completely self-destruct in up to ten second. but just recently and this just happened yesterday, there was a security flaw in the system and someone found a way to actually uncover some of these video messages that were supposed to disappear by accessing computer files. you've got to be careful. if you think how younger folks are sending some risky messages to each other and thinking that they're completely gone forever, it's safe to remember that this is the internet and we've got a digital trail. and you've always kind of got to watch out and be cautious.

>> yes, you do. have a happy new year. >> thank you. okay. imagine turning off that cell phone or getting off that computer and leaving it all behind for a weekend. next, our travel expert gives her picks for the best off the grid vacation spots.

if you're tired of reading all those work e-mails or keeping that cell phone charged and on your hip, maybe you

should think about going off the grid. "travel and leisure" magazine shows the best destinations for relaxing and disconnecting from life. >> the ultimate tuley lodge is an off the grid experience, because you are 100 miles away from everything. this is run by the clause family. so mrs. claus and mr. claus will be there to greet you. and give you the experience you wouldn't have anywhere else. this is about going flying and bea bea beachcombing once you get to your destination and looking for mastadon ivory or climbing a mountain. this is really out-there stuff. but what i love about it, it's all about connecting with the environment, being off the grid, so there is no cell phone service here. and really, really appreciating your surroundings. the bay of fire in australia is in the most stunning, most unspoiled area of tazmania in the northwest coast.

this is a place that really you have to be committed to going to, because part of the process of getting there is actually hiking for two days on these beautiful white sand dunes, and you hike -- it's not a lot of hiking, but you are definitely out there, and being a little bit adventurous. this is a place, again, that's off the grid. you're going to have no tvs, you're going to be pumping the water for your own showers. the reason you go there and the payoff, the incredible wildlife. you want to see wombats, wallabees, kangaroos, this is the place to go. hicks island is the brain child of an architect who was obsessed with how beautiful the surroundings were and wanted to celebrate that. so he built these incredible modern structures that are made of concrete, and the rooms only have three sides. that means one side is completely open to the elements. the brand-new element there that they've just built is called casa solaris. so talk about getting off the grid, this is entirely off the electrical grid. it is a place that is run all by solar power.

so you're going to go there, you're going to get to enjoy the surroundings, the incredible natural beauty of the environment there. but also do yoga, eat well and mostly just relax. >> i feel relaxed already. for more great travel tips and ideas visit travelandleisure.com. these stories are trending now on the web. the crisis in syria is getting worse, according to russia's top diplomat. the foreign minister says fighting is becoming more sectarian and more violence. 364 people died in fighting today alone. both men called for a transition from the al assad government. russia seems to be backing off its strong support for that regime. police in los angeles have arrested comic cat williams for allegedly en dangering his four children. that according to tmz. police found guns and drugs in the house, calling them a safety hazard. the children are in protective protect. williams posted bail and walked

out of jail. and yoko ono is finally having her say about the longstanding question over the beatles' break-up. she blames paul mccartney, period. the beatle of john lennon says the others just did not like it. after the school shooting in newtown, it seems like everyone wants to do something to help this grieving community. now they'll get some help from these therapy horses. magic and wakota are two specially trained mini horses from a gainesville, florida company called gentle carousel, good with kids and also provide healing to the families and first responders. >> it's going to be challenging for all of us, i think, just to just get through that and try to be happy, and be positive and bring miniature horses and not monsters into their school. and just brighten it up. >> that's magic you're looking

at there. magic is one of "time" magazine's top ten most heroic animals. she helped kids with cancer and even helped the woman speak who had not spoken in three years. all right. coming up at the top of the hour, politicians, they are still scrambling to reach a deal that will stop your taxes from going up, among other things. the latest from capitol hill. but take a look at the capitol earlier this morning. more of this is expected along the east coast. we'll tell you what that means for new year's eve. i know. i'm , and this is the nokia lumia 920 from at&t. it's got live tiles so all my stuff's always right there in real-time. it's like the ultimate personal assistant. but i'm me, and me needs handlers. so i hired todd to handle it for me. todd, gimme that hollywood news! what's happening on twitter? you're trending! yes! you can't have a todd, but you can have your own personal assistant. i guess you could call it todd. [ male announcer ] the new nokia lumia 920 with live tiles that deliver what you want in real time. only from at&t. rethink possible.

so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. now through january 2nd, no monthly payments until spring for qualified buyers. get the silverado for 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance.

especially if you touch the

buttons on the chimney sweeper's coat. happy new year. from germany. this is cnn breaking news. >> and moments ago we received word the condition of former president george herbert walker bush has reportedly improved. he's now been moved from intensive care to a regular room at the methodist hospital in houston. a spokesman says he will continue his recovery there. good news. now, to other news. in just three days, america will go over that fiscal cliff, unless, of course, these focus which we are about to show you prevent it. they're in control whether or not your taxes go up come new year's day. senate majority leader harry reid, minority leader, mitch mcconnell, john boehner and nancy pelosi. all four met at the white house yesterday afternoon with the president and vice president. and jessica yellin is our chief white house correspondent, and

jessica, the president used his bully pulpit after that meeting to sort of reinforce the idea that senators need to get busy. so let's give that a listen first. >> the american people are watching what we do here. obviously, their patience is already thin. this is dejavu all over again. america wonders why it is that in this town for some reason you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable. why everything always has to wait until the last minute. well, we're now at the last minute. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> jessica, you were in the room for the president's remarks and he said he was optimistic but he was also clearly a bit ticked off. so i'm wondering about this waiting until the last minute, the weekend, to get this all done. what is the mood in washington now, and how likely, is the real question, is there to be a deal?

>> reporter: there's a little bit more hope now than there was 48 hours ago, martin. and there is a sense that parties on -- parties see a way for this to move forward. the staffs of senator mcconnell, the republican leader on the senate and the democratic leader, senator harry reid on the hill, are in contact. and have been going back and forth over deal points during the day. if they can come to some kind of an agreement, then the two leaders have already said, as you know, that they will hammer out that deal and then bring it to -- try to sell it to their members and bring it to a vote sometime tomorrow maybe late. we understand that -- we heard, according to our producer, ted barrett and lisa de jordan up on capitol hill, there was some paper walked into a senate office and someone walked out without the paper. i know that sounds about as dull as it gets but that is movement

on capitol hill today. so maybe there will be some progress toward either a deal or a breakdown of a deal. but that's a little bit of movemen movement. at least we know they are talking. >> it's a wonder we didn't have the breaking news banner up. on the issue of compromise that does have to be struck, clearly both sides are going to have to give in. so no one side is going to get everything they want, will they? >> reporter: no. and, you know, everybody accepts that's the case. in any of these negotiations. the headline, you know, item is tax estimates. tax revenues and where tax rates will increase. what's the threshold. democrats have been saying that they would like tax increases to affect households that make $250,000 and more. they would also insist on extending unemployment benefits. they would like to see -- the

president would like a delay in those automatic spending cuts, those massive spending cuts that congress set into motion that should hit beginning in the new year. and then also an increase in the estate tax, which is also planned to hit in the new year. republicans would like, in order to be able to vote for some sort of deal, to limit that threshold and where -- a limit the threshold where the tax increase hits so maybe instead of $250,000 maybe $400,000, a way to avoid that estate tax increase, they would like no delay in those spending cuts, so that they will start to hit in the new year. and they would like democrats to agree to pay for the unemployment benefits. now we don't know if -- which of these items would be in the deal they're working out today, except we do know that the tax increase is definitely a part of it, and extension of unemployment benefits definitely would be a part of it, martin. >> all right, jessica yellin. we continue to follow this, and we will do it with your help.

thanks very much for joining us. okay. so i think it's clear, we are running out of time. if you want some sort of 11th-hour rescue. so how on earth did we get here? cnn's chief business correspondent, ali velshi, shows us. >> now we have passed a bold package of tax relief for america's families and businesses. >> reporter: it starts more than a decade ago when then president george w. bush initiated a series of tax cuts for all americans. but it's a deal with a devil. the cuts, which are politically expedient, but costly to government, expire in ten years' time. >> both houses of congress have now passed a package of tax relief that will protect the middle class. >> reporter: when it came time for the cuts to expire, the u.s. is just emerging from the worst recession since the great depression. so president obama agreed to extend the tax cuts for two more years in exchange for congress extending federal emergency unemployment benefits.

those cuts are expensive. if they're extended, by 2020, the bush era tax cuts will be responsible for more than half the total national debt. democrats insist that taxes go up for the wealthy, but stay in place permanently for those earning less than $250,000 a year. >> we need to stop the job-killing tax hikes, and we need to start cutting spending now. >> reporter: republicans refuse to play ball. they say no higher rates on the rich, no tax hikes on anyone. based on an ideology that calls for government to be as small as possible. its roots are as old as american politics but today the philosophy's main spokesman is this man, grover norquist, president of americans for tax reform. norquist's pledge, signed by almost all republicans in congress, forbids signatories for raising taxes ever, under any circumstances. things come to a head in the summer of 2011. republicans demand the

government reduce its deficit as a condition for raising the nation's debt ceiling. without a deal, the u.s. would lose its ability to borrow money. both democrats and republicans deploy scorched earth tactics that nearly shut down the government and ultimately cost america its aaa credit rating for the first time in history. but in a last-minute compromise, both sides agree to $1 trillion in spending cuts up front and another $1.2 trillion in cuts to be decided by a special congressional super committee. but a poison pill was attached. if the super committee can't reach a deal, automatic across-the-board cuts, known as the sequester, would go into effect, starting january 2013. at the exact moment when those bush tax cuts extended for two years, if you remember, would expire. so the point is, we could have all seen this coming some of us did. we yelled at the top of our lungs but were drowned out by the election.

it seems common sense and good governance often get drowned out by seemingly endless and continuous elections in america. this time, there may be a serious price to pay for it. >> ali velshi on how we got to the edge of the cliff. police in webster, new york have arrested a woman in connection with that ambush christmas eve. two firefighters were shot and killed and two others wounded when they arrived to put out a fire at william spengler's house. police say this woman, dawn wen, illegally bought the guns. the assault rifle and the gun were found with spengler who committed suicide. the u.s. embassy has offered its condolences after the death of a young woman gang raped on a bus in new dehli, india. doctors say she died peacefully. authorities have added now murder chars against the six suspects arrested in that rape case. the charges are actually to be filed thursday. angry protesters have been demanding justice and more protection for women.

and police expect more demonstrations in the days to come. [ cheers and applause ] a large crowd of cheers as they cheer the first couple to get married under maine's new same-sex marriage law. steven ridges and michael snell tied the knot just after midnight this morning. voters in maine and maryland approved same-sex maryland in november. if lawmakers fail to make a deal this weekend, americans aren't the only ones who will deal with the consequences.

tyeah, its the galaxy note ii.re great. you can do two things at the same time. you can watch videos and text. or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work. i will keep up the good work.

do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii.

my new year's message to washington is to grow up, act like adults, do your jobs or resign immediately. we are tired of your being useless and refusing to do your jobs. >> americans are not the only ones that are waiting to see if a budget deal is reached in washington. if if the u.s. economy falls off the fiscal cliff, it will have an impact around the world. haus sirken is a partner and fellow of the overseas markets and joins us from chicago. thanks for being with us on this weekend. the idea -- >> great being with you, martin. >> thank you. the idea of the world being affected by the fiscal cliff problem here in america wasn't really lost on the president after his meeting with congressional immediate leaders yesterday. let's listen. >> i'm modestly optimistic that an agreement can be achieved. nobody is going to get 100% what have they want. but let's make sure that middle class families and the american economy and, in fact, the world

economy, aren't adversely impacted because people can't do their jobs. >> so that begs the question, hall. how are other countries preparing for this really precarious situation and one in which they really have no control. >> well, martin, there's not much they can do to prepare. what will happen, if the fiscal cliff turns out to take place, is that we'll start to see the economy beginning to slide. the first thing that has happened already is that a lot of small businesses and other companies have been holding back on spending, and on hiring people. because they're worried about the tax rate increase. but starting in january 1st, we're going to start seeing things like payroll taxes going up, we're going to see other taxes starting to come into place that will be very difficult for some people. but that's only the beginning. in february, we're going to have to deal with the debt crisis. and the debt ceiling. and that's going to be an issue that will make the economy even more unstable. and by may and april, we're going to start to see things

like estimated taxes increase and the government really being forced to stop spending, because it's going to start to run out of money from the standpoint of the new budget. and if this goes on, all the way through december, we're going to start to see the u.s. entering a recession, and unemployment going up. so this is a very bad situation if we let it go. on the other hand, this is something that can actually be solved very easily. >> all right. >> let me stop you, because i just want to get in a couple questions before we run out of time. many analysts will tell us that the biggest worry they have outside of the tax hikes and the spending cuts is the uncertainty of what politicians will do. and i'm wondering, the markets really do not like uncertainty. somehow that likely to affect say world markets come monday if there's no deal? is. >> well, no one likes uncertainty. markets certainly dot like uncertainty. so this can be a major hit in terms of how the world looks at it. not just for the u.s., but global markets. the u.s. is still the largest economy in the world. we still have the most influence

in the world. and we can see some potential movements downward. hopefully not too far, but we can see movements downward, just not on the dow jones industrial but all global indices. >> what about china? they own a lot of our debt. how do they look at all of this? >> well, china, i think, looks at this as part of the issues around democracy. china is not a testimony democracy. they have a centralized government and what they're watching is some of the confusion that exists in democracy. democracy has a lot of advantages, but making decisions quickly is not one of them. >> all right. how about treasury secretary tim geithner? he says we are about to hit that debt ceiling, the legal limit at which a country can borrow money to pay its bills. and that has as much effect on markets as the cliff, correct? >> absolutely. and maybe even more. because the worst thing that could happen is that we stop paying our bills. the world is willing to give us money to help us pay our bills, the world is willing to accept a lot of things. but if the u.s. government stops

paying its bills because it has hit the debt ceiling, that could be disastrous. that would mean clearly an entry into a recession and a lot of unemployment. because that would cause the faith and credit of the u.s. to be put in jeopardy. >> thank you very much for talking to us. and as demonstrated, the fiscal cliff is more than just an american problem. thanks again. >> thank you. they are words that one university wants to get rid of. amazing. baby bump. ginormous. and man cave. so what words and phrases are getting the boot for 2013? we'll look at top contenders coming up. martin, at the leading cause of accidental deaths in this country is no longer car accidents. instead it's perfectly legal prescription pain killers which now kill more people than cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines combined. we're going to look at how

disturbingly easy it is to take a deadly dose and how warning labels don't paint a true picture. we've got that ahead, 4:30 p.m. eastern. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro.

just like you. customer erin swenson bought so, i'm happy. today. sales go up... i'm happy. it went out today... i'm happy. what if she's not home? (together) she won't be happy. use ups! she can get a text alert, reroute... even reschedule her package. it's ups my choice. are you happy? i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. (together) happy. i love logistics.

it's the last word on 2012. or rather, last words that you might want to use in 2013. every year, lake superior state university releases a list of words they want to be banished for their, quote, misuse, overuse and general uselessness. and spoiler alert, which is one of those phrases i've used several others on the air today. so john shelby, he is the man, the one of the creators, i should say, of this list. and he joins us with a look at some of the words and phrases that got the most nominations. so let's start with the phrase "bucket list." people just don't like that, and how it get overused? >> it's just overused. there is a very popular movie. everybody started adding to their bucket list.

and, well, people just got tired of hearing it and that's what this list is for, is to cleanse the language in a tongue in cheek sort of way. >> and i should have said, it's nice to see you, by the way. very good to see you, thank you for joining us. but what about the word "trending?" why does that irk people so? >> i don't know if it irks people. it sort of taps into the social media. what's trending on social media. we don't say we're following this in the headlines now, this is what we're following for you in the news. this is what's trending. and it's sort of -- reminds us that life moves at a breakneck speed and that we're always connected. so i think people sort of reject the whole idea of being drawn upon in the section of trending. >> i think we do kind of limit our vocabulary as a result of using these cliche phrases. here's another one for you, spoiler alert. and i have already used that, i believe, in the newscast. so that got a lot of votes too, correct? >> yes, it did. because nobody likes to see a spoiler come down the pike.

as soon as you say "spoiler alert" you know it's either is something you already know or something you want to mute the television so you won't find out. at least when it applies to sports. >> and fiscal cliff. which i think i've said a billion times already today. that is right up there. and i get that one. >> yeah, well, fiscal cliff. it involves economics, it involves politics. a lot of people think it's going to increase the deficit, which it isn't. a lot of people are worried it's going to decrease the deficit. so a lot of complicated issues and political issues. and we hear it all of the time. >> let's talk about lake superior state university and how this list compiling all began. >> it was a bet new year's eve, 1976. >> long ago. >> yep. and they discussed how many words and phrases are overused too often. and the originator of this list back in 1976 went back and drew up a list of five words to submit to upi, united press international. and the whole thing took off

from there, and we take nominations from all over the world. whatever floats to the top gets to our list. >> and is i was going to ask how that happened. people can, what, make suggestions, somehow contact your university and say here's a word i want banished. >> lssubanished. do a search and it will get you right to our page. and there is still time to vote, by the way. the list comes out on monday at 12:01. if we get anymore packed ballot boxes, we'll include those. >> do that right now. a few of the words banished for 2012, let's go over them. amazing. baby bump. ginormous. and man cave. those were the top vote-getters, apparently, last year, this year? >> yes, they were. and my man cave is a '93 jeef cherokee that i've got at my extra closet. we don't really want people to stop using these words. this is part of the richness of the english language. just stop and slow down how you

express yourself. >> because these words clearly are not going to go away. they're going to linger in the lexicon of things, right? >> yeah. and for the past 40 years, we've accumulated about 1,000 words and phrases. and you could write a book using them. in fact, they'll never go away. the only thing we want you to do and only serious part of this list, this tongue in cheek list is to slow down and think about how you express yourself. >> and come up with your own phrase and start a trend somewhere else. >> yeah. the unexamined language is not worth speaking. >> all right. i applaud the effort. thanks very much for joining us. great to hear from you up there. and hopefully you won't get too much snow. >> we'll hang in there until spring. >> good luck on that. thank you. all right. so they want the phrase "fiscal cliff" banned in 2013. i can't blame them there. what about "dairy cliff?" why you could spend a lot more on milk products if washington doesn't get its act together soon. [ male announcer ] the more you lose, the more you lose,

because for every two pounds you lose through diet and exercise, alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪

♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it takes to make them feel better. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] that's why you choose children's tylenol. the same brand your mom trusted for you when you were young. ♪ how much i love you [ humming ] [ female announcer ] children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. [ humming ] aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪

welcome back to the cnn "newsroom," i'm martin savage. here's our top stories. as we head toward the bottom of the hour.

former president george herbert walker bush's health has improved. he has been moved from are intensive care to a regular room at the methodist hospital in houston. a spokesman says he will continue his recovery there. the u.s. senate's top leaders are negotiating today, they are hoping to avert a slide off that fiscal cliff. they've got until new year's day to reach a budget deal or taxes for everybody will go up and 2 million unemployed workers will lose their jobless benefits. the u.s. embassy has offered its condolences after the death of a young woman gang raped died. doctors say she died peacefully at the singapore hospital where she was being treated. authorities have added murder charges against the six suspects arrested in the rape case. the charges are expected to be filed thursday. angry protesters have been demanding justice and more protection for women and police expect those demonstrations are likely to grow in the days to come. authorities have charged a woman with providing a convicted killer with the weapons he used in that christmas eve ambush i